THERE must be a joke somewhere here. 

Former prime minister, and now an accused in the dock, Najib Razak is backing live-streaming of his SRC International court case, the same trial he had applied for a gag order previously.

His reason for live-streaming? He is being given a short shrift by government-controlled media.

“The people have a right to know the truth and to have transparency,” Najib said in a Facebook post. 

The former prime minister should have thought about truth and transparency at the height of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, when his minions blocked the news from government broadcasters and private media groups controlled by his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Perhaps Najib needs to consider these few reasons before even thinking he’s getting a raw deal in court.

A. Even without any telecast or live-streaming, he and his legal team have been given so much of leeway that it’s not funny. Bringing his cushion and books to court, slipping off for coffee without court’s permission.

Do we see any other accused in the dock get such treatment? Does he still think he is the prime minister? 

B. The media coverage has been extremely fair to Najib Razak, in and outside the courtroom. The media section is packed, there are TV rooms, although the case has started off slowly and with frequent interruptions and delays.

And the coverage has been much fairer than what the local press gave the Anwar trials over the years.

It was just a while ago we had exclusives in Umno-owned media and to a certain extent government broadcasters about Anwar’s sodomy trials that one would think he was guilty before the case started.

C. Live-streaming will only encourage show-boating by certain lawyers and Malaysians can already see that in the post-hearing press conferences broadcast via Facebook Live whenever the hearing is held.

What happens inside the court room is reported in a sober fashion to convey the witness testimonies and the questioning by both the prosecution and defence lawyers. 

But what happens outside the courtroom is defence lawyers going off to snipe away without any reply from the prosecution. That then becomes a court of public opinion, not by a judge who is tasked with the case.

Everyone needs the case against Najib to proceed fairly to ensure his rights are kept. That means ensuring the SRC case is a trial judged by those who are trained to do so, not a reality show prone to exaggeration.

The SRC trial is a landmark court case in Malaysia, not a circus with clowns to be broadcast live. – April 21, 2019.

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.